German-born Hugo Berten lived in Amsterdam from 1904. In 1926 he moved to Blaricum and the following year to Laren, where he combined painting with the profession of framer and dealer in painter's supplies. In the spring of 1941, Berten successfully exhibited a series of large, precision-painted landscapes at Carel van Lier in Amsterdam, who often showed work by promising self-taught artists. Bertens oeuvre mainly comprises (Dutch) landscapes and large flower still lifes.